Quistgaard, Erik European Manager. Erik Quistgaard, was the Director General of the European Space Agency from 1980-1984. As head of ESA, he oversaw the Ariane rocket's development and Spacelab's many contributions to space science.

Born in 1922, Mr Quistgaard gained a MS degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Before joining ESA, Erik Quistgaard was managing director of the Danish shipbuilding company OLS. He had earlier served as general manager and director of Volvo in Sweden, before that spent three years with the Chrysler Corporation in the USA.